Storage battery and process of producing the same



Apr. 3, 1923. 1,450,533

A. H. WlLLlAMS v STORAGE BATTERY AND PROCESS OF PRODUCING THE SAME Filed-Apr. 16, 1939 HQ. 1. 2| '7 9 22 ea 20 a (l H I0 I Io I0 I I4 I a 6 la ll Invenlor. Albert H, Williams Anyai Patented Apr}, Q

. mm; stares PATE T; err-Ice.

' mum: n. WILLIAMS, or woncns'rna, ,russacnusms; ASSIYGII'OBZTO roinrn s'roaaer: aarrnar 00., or'woacns'rnn; nssacnusms, a coaroaa'rrox or MASSACHUSETTS. P

nor-Len na'r'rnar m rnocnss or raonucmerm! sum ("Application fled April 16, 1sao.-"s"'em1m;. 374,300.

' :j o'allwlwirm'tmy concei n: I

Be'it' knownthat I, ALBERT H. WILLIAMS, a, citizen of theUnited States, and resident of Worcester, county of Worcester, State of l-Ma'ssachu'setts, havewinvented an Improvemen: in Storage Batteries and Processes of Producing the Same, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like I kharaeterson the drawing representing like parts.

I This invention relates to improvementsin storage mg t e have a greater efli ciency and .a longer life than batteries heretofore constructed and which can be produced at-a much less cost, and in a shorter time. y D More specifically'the object of the invention consists'in the production of a storage battery comprising plates invwhichthe active material is 'of greater strength and purity and of increased and uniform rosit) hich will enable a better circulation of the electrolyte and in which the conduc-' tivity of the active element will be increased by the perfect electric contact between the particles of-the active material, so that-the electrical resistance; will bereduced and in which by reason of the purity. and porosity ofthe active material substantially no local electric action will tallre place and p'olariza tion during a heavy rate 'of' charge or dis charge will be substantially eliminated.

f A furtherob'ect of the invention is to produce plates or a storage battery which.

"will not warp or buckle and which will be of such a character that the. breaking away of the active element. durin char 'ng and discharging will'be substantially eliminated. A further object ofthe invention is to provide an electric battery of a character which will not require the positioning of separator negative p ates ofthe battery whereby the resistance of the usual separator plates to "the passage of the electric current through the electrolyte will be eliminated.

V p A further object of the invention is to sst-ructed will be composed of a' core or.

having/pure sponge lead integrallyattached stices of the grid,v without destro"n fibrous-character of the sponge lea w ere: batteries and the process of produc same and the general object thereof l is to providea storage battery which will drawings and plates between the positive and provide a storage'battery in which the negative and the positive plates as initially coh= gridor welded thereto. I

A further 'object of the inventionflis to provide pos'itiveand negative plates-for a storage battery which-as initially formed comprise pure sponge lead in fibrous form" compressed upon the cores; or'into the interthe by the active material of the plates will have a substantially uniform porosity throughout the plates so that the desired chemical action may readily take 'place uponall of the particles ofthe active material forming said plates. v

A further object, ofthe invention consists in providing a novel process-of forming storage battery plates of the character above described which will enable both the positive and negative plates to be rapidly formed. 1

Another object-of the invention consists in treating the -platesfin such a manner duringtheir 1 production that the necessity for the long period of charging usually required in the production -of storage batteries will be rendered unnecessary and a' completely charged storage battery pro -,duced within the period of less than an hour, whereas in batteries as heretofore produced the construction and charging of the batteries usually requires several days.

' 'Other objects and features of the invention will morefully appear fromthe following description .and the accompanying will be pointed out in the annexed claims. 1

'A preferred form of storage battery embodying my invention is illustrated in the accompanymgdrawings in which,. I

Fig. 1 is a vertical transverse section throughthe battery showing one of the plates .in side elevation. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the-same, a

portion of the wall of the battery being broken away and parts of certain of the plates and grids shown in cross section.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of one of the plates of the battery showing the grid in dotted lines with fibrous sponge lead secured to, or deposited therein, and,

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view through a completed plate showing the fibrous character of the active material which lies in the interstices between the cross bars of the grid of the plate.

In usual storage battery constructions the positive and negative plates comprise grids formed of lead and antimony, to which is secured a paste which is later converted into the active material of the plates. Various formulas are utilized by different manufacturers in the formation of the paste for the plates. Ordinarily, however, the paste for the positive plate is. composed mainly" of red lead (Pb O and the negative plate of litharge (PbO), or a mixture of the'two, in

which the red lead predominates in the positive plate and the litharge in the negative plate. In preparing this composition both the red lead and litharge. being in granular;

form, are usually mixed with dilute sulphuric acid to form a paste of proper consistency, the action of the sulphuric acid upon the redlead and litharge producing small current is required so that the charg ing operation ordinarily takes several days through the electrolyte.

lead sulphate crystals which serve to bind together the active material as well as to give porosity to-the plates during the use of the battery. When the plates are thus formed a considerable amount of impurities, in addition to the lead sulphate crystals, remain within the active material which are likely to cause local electric action which in itself reduces the efiiciency of the plate and which results in the production of gases that further interfere with the plates efficiency.

In the usual construction of batteries the plates thus produced are placed in an electrolyte of sulphuric acid and water and charged by a current which is passed This causes an electric chemical action in which the active material, namely litharge of the negative plate, 1

is reduced to a more or less impure sponge lead, while'a't thesame time the active material'of the-positive plate is converted into lead peroxide, (PbO In the process of charging the plates for storage batteries. a large number of plates are mounted in long tanks, the positive and negative plates alternating as in the battery cell but with more space between them, the positives being all connected and the negatives in another. In order properly to form the positive and negative plates a prolonged charge, produced by a Otherwise, the chemical action upon the active materials of the paste will cause a in one group 1 lead produced upon the negative plate is of I granular form and the particles do not cohere as intimately as is desirable. The present invention contemplates the production of plates for storage batteries in which both the positive and negative plates are primarily formed of cores or grids to which is secured. or upon which is deposited, sponge lead produced electro-chemically from a suitable so; lution. .T he sponge lead thus formed is formed integrally upon, or welded to, the grids in such a manner as to produce a perfect electric conductivity of the grid. The formation of the sponge lead desirably is so controlled that it is of a fibrous nature as distinguished from a granular or crystalline condition.

The pure sponge lead which is employed in the construction of the'storage battery plates embodying my inventioninay be pro- 1 storage battery. In either case by. roper manipulation of the current and by se ective use of cathodes and anodes of proper size the sponge lead may be deposited in a metallic form. as a plating. or a fibrous form, or substantially in a crystalline form. or as a tree. the character of the deposition being dependent upon the regulation of the, amperage and voltage of the electric current and the character of the anode and cathode.

here a small cathode surface is used and a large anode surface. a current of large amperage and low voltage will produce the fibrous sponge lead whereas with the anode and cathode of substantiallythe same size and an amperage and voltage of substantially equal amount a metallic depositlike an electroplating will be produced. If a large cathode and a small anode are used with a high voltage and low current the .dep-

osition will be in the form of crystals or of 'tree form.

In producing the sponge lead for theac- .tive material of storage battery plates em- If the from the cathode, pressed into blocks and subsequently sawed or cut into suitable slabs for application to the battery plates.

In the preparation of the cores orgrids for the reception of the sponge lead slabs the grids desirably are immersed in one ofthe solutions above mentioned and a suitable current applied to cause the deposition of a film of metallic lead upon the surface of the core or grid. It is found that when the sponge lead is applied to a recently deposited plating of this character under pressure that an intimate welding of the sponge lead to the grids or cores will take place because of the nascent properties of the freshly deposited lead film -consequently, a maximum conductivity betweenthe sponge lead and the cores or grids is obtained.

It is found that where sponge lead is thus directly produced by electrochemical de-' positions upon the cores or grids of the battery plates; or where the plates are formed by pressing slabsof sponge lead upon grids the surfaces of which have recently been plated as above described, the fibrous character of the sponge lead will not be destroyed even though a thickness of sponge lead of two or three times that of the grid is pressed into the interstices between the cross bars of the grids, or the sponge lead reduced to a similar thickness if applied to a plain core. In either instance the fibrous character of the sponge lead enables a plate to be produced which has a substantially uniform porosity throughout which permits free access of the electrolyte in the cell to all particles of the sponge lead so that a proper chemical action takes place through- [out the entire thickness of the plate. Furthermore. the fibrous character of the lead enables the plates to have an electric conductivity far in excess of any heretofore produced.

qThe plates thus formed being of pure spongelead. produced by electric deposisulphuric acid and water.

tion, retain in a measure a negative charge and are ready for instant use 1n the storage battery.

In order to form, a positive plate these negative plates. ,the surfaces or interstices of which are composed of pure sponge lead,rare

discharged'in the. usual way by short circuiting in the'u'sual electrolyte solution of ey arethen washed to remove the acid and allowed to dry. The drylates areth'en immersed in an oxidizing so ution, preferably a 10% solution of equal parts by weight, of sulphuric acid and potassium bichromatu This solution-is immediately absorbed in the pores of the'sponge lead and-oxidation-at once takes' place. This action. however. may be hastened 'by the application ofa .positive current, sheet lead dumm platesbeing used as negative electrodes an placed alternately into lead peroxide within the space of" about 7 half an hour as compared with the number of da s time which is re uired to char e l q z:

the usual positive battery plates made of red lead and litharge paste.

Furthermore, the lead peroxide thus produced by electrochemical action is chemically pure and consequently free from the impurities which are present in the pmsitive plates produced from the red lead and litharge paste. In the plates produced by the foregoing process. the uniform porosity of. the active material is retained so that the electrolyte of the battery in which the plate is used is permitted to have free access to all parts of the active material.

Furthermore, in thus producing the lead peroxide for the positive plate the plate itself is given a positive charge so that when it is placed in the battery cell with the ne tive plate, which as above described has retained the negative charge produced during its production; the storage battery itselfis in substantially a perfect condition for use and needs only such charging as may be required to overcome the deterioration due to the handling of theplates.

By this process of producing battery plates acomplete storage battery may be constructed and charged within an hours time and the battery thus produced will, by reason of the greater conductivity of the materials ofthe active elements, the absence of local electrolytic action and the production. of gases, produce a higher voltage and a greater amperage than batteries having plates of equal size formed by the old methods above described. A battery comprising plates constructed in accordance with the process heretofore described is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which the cell comprises the usual rectangular box or-casing 1 of rubber or vulcanite, or other suitable material. having at its bottom upwardly extending ribs I 2 adapted to support the under edges of'the battery plates. The battery platesprefeb ably are in the form of rectangular grids formed of an alloy of lead and antimony provided'with solid marginal portions 3' and preferably diagonally extending ribs 4: and

5' -which intersect in such a manner as to form diamond shaped apertures 6.

The ribs 5 preferably are diamond shape or rectangular in cross section with the edges posite sidesof the grids, the surfaces of the ribs and margins having previously been given a coating or plating9 of metallic lead. The sponge lead slabs are thenpressed into the interstices 6 between the ribs until the outer surfaces are flush with the surfaces of the marginal portions 3 of the grid. It I will be observed that the diamond shaped form of the ribs is such'as to cause a compression 01' condensation of the approaching faces of the slabs as they are pressed upon the plate and this assists in causing an intimate interlocking or welding together'of the adjacent faces of the slabs so that the faces of the slabs are practically welded together into a homogeneous mass. The plates thus constructed are not subjectto washing away or distortion during the charging or discharging of the battery, even though a heavy current is utilized or produced{ consequently the use of separator plates between the positive and negative plates of the battery may be avoided.

' bles are provided with a central aperture which is adapted to receive a connecting rod 14. 7 I

In assembling the plates the stems 13 of the washers are passed through suitable apertures in the plates. the positive and negative plates being alternately arranged.

'hen as many plates as desired have been t-hus assembled the rodsl-l; which preferably are of rubber, are passed through the thimbles and are expanded at their ends bv the application of a heated iron so that the plates are firmly seuredtogetherr Theigposi tive and negative plates are thus separated only by the heads 12 of the thimbles so that the electrolyte-is enabled to flow freely between the'plates and the resistance which is usually interposedto the flow of the electric current by the use of separator plates is'entirely eliminated, The assembled plates may then be i iserted in the casing 1 of the battery in the usual manner.

-The upper ends of each of the positive and negative plates are provided wtih the usual extensions or lugs 15 and 16 respectively which are'engaged by strap plates 17. and 18 which lead to the usual terminalposts 19 and 20. Any suitable cover 21 may be provided for the battery, the cover. having the usual filling opening 22 provided with a removable cap 23 through which'thef electrolyte 21 may be introduced.

Any suitable electrolyte-maybe employed :1

such as the ordinary solution of sulphuric" acid and water. I prefer. however, to use a special electrolyte of solid consistency in conjunction with the plates aforesaid. This,

however, does not form an essential part of.

the present invention and isnot.

, therefore, described herein.

It will be understood thatthe battery and process of constructing the sameherein described constitutes the rpreferred embodiments of my invention, but that, the same are not restrictive, that the sponge lead and the plates may be p'roducedby other procplate consisting of a supporting grid'the interstices of which are filled with electrically refined homogeneous pure fibrous sponge lead united to said grid by a film of pure lead integrally united to said grid and to said sponge lead.

described my invention, what i and'desire t0 secure'by Let- :2. A storage battery havinga positive J plate the activeelelnentof which consists of electrically refined fibrous spongelead homogeneously peroxidized.

storage battery having plate consisting of a support-in grid the interstices ofwhich are filled with electrically refined pure fibrous geneously peroxidized. V

4. A storage battery having a positive sponge lead homointerstices of which are filled with electria" positive plate consisting of a'supporting grid the cally refined fibrous sponge lead in com- 1 pressed form homogeneously peroxidized.

5. The process of producing negative plates for storage batteries which consists in producing slabs of fibrous [sponge lead from a su table solution by electric che nl cal deposltlon, 'coatlng a supporting grid or core with a plating of metallic lead by electro-chemical deposition and compress ingathe slabs of fibrous'sponge lead upon said grid while said plating isin a nascent state whereby said sponge lead will be homogeneously attached to the grid.

v.6. The process of producingpositive plates for storage batteries which consists in. producing'slabs of'fibrous sponge lead by electric deposition from a suitable chemical solution. compressing said slabs of fibrous sponge lead upon' a core or grid and treating the plate thus produced to an oxidizing agent whereby the sponge lead will be transformed into pure lead peroxide.

7. The process of producing positive of an oxidizingagent in the presence of a plates for storage batteries which consists in current of electricity whereby the sponge producing slabs of fibrous sponge lead by lead will be transformed to pure holnogene- 10 electric deposition from a suitable chemical ous peroxide of lead.

$ soluti0n, compressing said slabs of fibrous In testimony whereof, I have signed my sponge lead upon a core or grid andtrea-tname to this specification.

ing the plate thus produced to the action ALBERT H. WILLIAMS. 

